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“Ma’am.”
“Harper.” Wait. How does he know my name?
“Harper!” I begin to panic as the man starts shaking me. Trying to pull me away.
“Harper!”
I sit up in bed, covered in sweat, frantically checking my surroundings. It takes me a second to recognize where I am, but I breathe a sigh of relief when I do.
Bringing my knees up to my chest, I set my elbows on them and hold my face in my hands. “You’re not at the bookstore, Harp. Cece isn’t here. You’re okay.” I mumble to myself.
I feel a large hand slide up my bare back and jump. “Fuck… It’s just me, Angel.”
Angel. Finn.
I take a deep breath and lean into his warm touch instead of away from it. “You’re okay. Everything is okay.” His deep voice calms my racing heart.
Finn doesn’t say anything else. He continues running his hand up and down my back, not even caring that I’m covered in sweat. Once I finally get my breathing under control, I lay back down against my pillow and turn to face him. He threads his fingers through my hair and strokes my hairline with his thumb. I stare into his beautiful brown eyes and notice the wrinkle between his eyebrows. His face filled with concern. But he doesn’t ask me any questions. He just continues to stroke my hair silently, waiting until I’m ready to explain to him what happened.
Honestly, though, I’m not even sure what that was about. I haven’t had many nightmares in my life. Sure, my life has been traumatizing but not in the ‘It’ll haunt your nightmares’ type of way. I don’t remember my parents dying. I remember my life before and my life after but not them actually dying. I wasn’t in the car that day, and I was only thirteen. My memories from that time in my life have already started to fade.
And when Cece died… I guess I don’t know why that never haunted my dreams. Yes, I was there. Yes, I experienced her death firsthand, but it never really affected me that way. Maybe because she died of natural causes. Maybe because I chose to block it all out.
I don’t know. I really need to go to therapy.
But that dream… that was what nightmares were made of. I never want to relive that day again, and that made it feel all too real.
I’m sure it has everything to do with what has been happening, all of the threats hanging over my head. It’s been a few days since we all sat down at the table and came up with a sort of plan, but nothing new has developed, and I’m getting antsy. Even though I haven’t left the apartment, I feel like someone is always watching me. Someone is always watching me; Logan and Tanner are my two new shadows. They’re the guards that Ronan hired to watch over me. But someone beside them, a truly unwanted presence. It makes my skin crawl, and I constantly feel on edge.
But why dream about Cece’s death?
Finn stares at me, and I can tell he wants to help. He wants to fix it like he always does. I’m not sure if there’s anything to be fixed, honestly. It was just a bad dream.
Right?
I open my mouth to explain what happened, but no sound comes out. Tears fill my eyes. I don’t want to live through that nightmare a third time. I shake my head and bury my face into his chest as he pulls me closer, letting my tears soak his skin. The scent of him, all crisp and clean, like how it smells right after it rains, brings me comfort, and after a few minutes, I notice the tears have stopped. He pulls my face away just enough to look down at me before shuffling out of bed.
I look up at him, confused and disappointed by the spot he’s left. Before I can ask him where he’s going, he holds out a hand and smiles at me. It’s a rare smile, only reserved for a few. He may not be related to Ronan by blood, but if one thing shows they’re brothers at heart, it’s how serious they are all the time. I don’t mind, though. I like that their smiles are only for me.
I reach out and grab his hand, and he pulls me off the bed. I wrap my arms around his neck as he grabs my waste. “Where are we going?” I look down at the both of us, a little concerned. Neither of us has any clothes on, as none of them let me sleep in any. They say they like to feel my skin up against theirs. I don’t disagree.
Finn leans down and places a quick kiss on my lips. “To shower.”
“Right now?” I look at the clock beside my bed, “It’s two in the morning.”
He brushes the ever-stubborn stray curl from my forehead as he looks down at me, “It’ll help you feel better.”
“Okay,” I smile up at him. As I spin to walk towards the bathroom, he lightly smacks my ass.
“Plus, all that sweating made you stinky.”
I whirl around to face him, “Hey!” I sound offended, but I can only smile as he hits me with a panty-dropping wink.
It would be if I were wearing panties.
“Go turn the shower on, Angel. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
I walk into the bathroom with a smile on my face, momentarily forgetting the nightmare that woke me in the first place.
